The Pennsylvania Muscle Institute (PMI) announces a call for proposals for the 2007 Mini-Research Grant Program. The program is intended to encourage Penn researchers to explore novel approaches to studies of cell motility in their fields of interest.

The PMI will award one-year grants of seed funds up to $20,000 to successful proposals in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle, non-muscle cell motility, development, expression and assembly of contractile and motile organelles. Preference will be given to new initiatives, new collaborations and junior faculty.

The Application Process

The application should include:

A three-page description, giving the background, objectives, experimental approach and discussion of expected results.
An abstract
A budget (one page)
A brief curriculum vitae including recent publications, current research support and list of other pending proposals should be submitted.

Applications are due by March 15, 2007. Successful applications will be funded as early as April 1, 2007 for a one-year period.

All applications involving human subjects, animals, and hazardous or radioactive materials must receive institutional approval prior to funding. This grant mechanism is not for faculty salary. A final report and a summary of further research proposals related to this funding will be required at the end of the grant period.